This is undoubtedly one of the happiest moments of my work year!
It’s when the language practice book I worked so hard on for months becomes available and my anxiety turns into excitement. It’s the third year I’ve created a summer practice book, and the experience gets more and more exciting every year.
When I wrote Un’estate al lago, my first Italian workbook ever and the first adventure of Sabrina, I would never have imagined that it would be followed by more books and more adventures. It’s such a great feeling, and I couldn’t be happier!
What makes me happy is the fact that students have loved Un’estate al lago first and then Andiamo al mare!, the workbook I published last year, and have found them fun but also very useful for their language practice. This is exactly why I wrote a third book: Un’estate diversa.
In Un’estate al lago, we meet Sabrina, a 17-year-old girl who goes on holiday with her parents and writes all her adventures in her beloved diary. It’s a special summer for Sabrina because she makes new friends and falls in love for the first time. Her adventures take place in Lake Garda, a magical place in the north of Italy, and the location is a key element in the book.
The same goes for Andiamo al mare!, the second book of the series. Sabrina is back with her diary, ready to record her summer, but she has to face some disappointment: the family won’t return to Lake Garda, as she thought, but goes to Sardinia, a beautiful island in the middle of the Mediterranean, for a holiday by the sea. Even though Sabrina is disappointed at first, her time in Sardinia will gift her with memories to remember for a lifetime.
Sabrina is the main character of this year’s book as well. It’s her last year in high school, a key moment in the life of every student. She has to say goodbye to all her friends and get ready to start a new life in Milan, where she’ll attend university. Since she needs money for school, she won’t go on holiday this year. No Lake Garda, no Sardinia for her, but a summer job at a local beach club in Liguria. Sabrina is not exactly happy about that, but there’ll be lots of surprises and a bit of adventure in this story as well.
Needless to say, all these books don’t tell Sabrina’s story only. The adventures of Sabrina are just the starting point of a wider range of exercises and activities to practice Italian in a fun and relaxed way. The idea for these books came from the quaderno delle vacanze, a workbook we were given in elementary school to do homework over the summer. It was full of colours, easy, fun, enjoyable, yet full of exercises on all the topics we studied during the school year.
I wanted to bring the same vibe to my workbooks. This means that each book, Un’estate diversa included, contains a story to read, exercises on reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and creative writing. Like the other books, Un’estate diversa is divided into 9 chapters, and each chapter is followed by exercises to work on the Italian language. Also, there are sections about topics and traditions of Italian culture, and since the book is set in Liguria, there is a section about that region as well.
In order to practice listening, I have also recorded an audio file for each chapter. And to make it even more fun, I created a dedicated playlist with some cool Italian music from 1997, the year when the story of Sabrina takes place. The book is 90 pages long and is a great opportunity to practice Italian with a story. If you love reading or are looking for something fun to work on over the summer, Un’estate diversa is the book for you.
You will find all the details about the book and the link to purchase it on the specific page called Un’estate diversa. If you have questions or doubts, send me an email or just leave a comment here!
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